Children's Home run by Shropshire Council in Shropshire

Inspection report for children's home: 2747302 1 Registered provider: Shropshire Council

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This local authority home is registered to provide care for up to three children. One of the focuses of this children’s home is to support children to develop their life and independence skills ready for moving on into adulthood.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager started in post on 12 January 2026 and was registered with Ofsted on 29 June 2026.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, one child was living in the home. The inspector spent time talking to the child.

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Information about this children’s home

The term ‘carers’ has been used throughout the report to reflect the home’s preferred title to describe staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

The children's home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2747302 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

19/08/2025 Full Good 10/09/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2747302 3

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Summary of findings

Children make good progress because they benefit from care that is adapted to their changing needs and priorities. Managers and carers give good focus to safeguarding children, while also supporting them to develop skills so that they feel ready to move on, live independently, or to live with reduced support.

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Summary of findings

For one child, managers were not successful in challenging the local authority to ensure that a clear multi-agency plan was in place. This resulted the child experiencing an interim placement arrangement in temporary accommodation without education. The responsible individual and registered manager have completed a learning review as a result. This has identified actions point both for themselves and the local authority moving forward.

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Summary of findings

A new manager has been appointed to the home and registered with Ofsted. Carers and external professionals spoke highly of the manager, describing her as supportive and having good communication skills. The carer team would benefit from supervisions taking place on a regular basis and training linked to the home’s main objective of preparing children for adulthood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, three children have moved out of the home, and one child has moved in. Two children moved on to supported accommodation and the third child moved to another children's home that was identified as being able to meet their specific needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and their families are actively involved in moves into, and on from, the home. When children move into the home, managers undertake assessments. These assessments help to ensure that the staff team has the necessary experience, skills and resources to meet children's needs effectively. Moves into the home are well planned and include sharing information with children and their families, visits to the home and discussions with children already living there. This helps children to get to know one another and settle quickly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Carers know the children well. They are proactive in helping children to develop their life and independence skills in line with their plans for the future. They involve children directly in planning for their futures, which increases children's motivation and confidence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Carers are knowledgeable about children's healthcare needs. They are vigilant in responding to signs of ill health and actively promote healthy lifestyles. They support children to attend routine and specialist healthcare appointments and encourage them to take increasing responsibility for organising these themselves. Carers oversee the safe Inspection report for children's home: 2747302 4 storage, administration and management of medication, while also helping children to understand and eventually manage their own medication. Carers prioritise children's health, and children's understanding of their health needs continues to improve because of this focused support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and carers work hard to build and maintain positive relationships with children's families and friends. Family members speak regularly to the manager and carers and, where appropriate, attend multi-agency meetings. Carers plan carefully to ensure that children can spend time safely with family and friends outside the home. They transport children to meet family members and friends, maintain contact during visits and remain available to provide support. They also help children to maintain these relationships independently. For example, they gradually support children to use public transport and become confident travelling independently to meet family and friends. This collaborative approach strengthens family connections, reinforces children's sense of stability and helps them develop stronger, more resilient relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Carers promote the importance of education and support arrangements that take account of children's previous educational experiences. They work in partnership with education providers and other professionals to ensure that children have every opportunity to reach their potential. Carers support children to attend school visits, college open days, interviews, work experience placements and college placements. When plans are in place for a child to move on from the home into semi-independent living, carers support the child to identify suitable education provision near their new home, even when this is in another county. If a child is not in education, carers advocate effectively on their behalf and have positive discussions about returning to education or exploring employment opportunities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home and garden are bright, welcoming and well maintained. Photographs of children enjoying activities are displayed throughout the home and stored in photo albums. Children's bedrooms are personalised to reflect their individual preferences, helping them to feel valued and at home. Plans are in place to continue improving the environment. For example, work is planned to enhance the exterior of the building.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

The registered manager and carers have a good understanding of the risks posed to individual children. When incidents occur, appropriate action is taken to promote children's safety. Risk management plans are updated to reflect changes in children's circumstances and provide clear guidance for carers about how to support children and manage risks effectively. These plans are shared with partner agencies and, where appropriate, additional multi-agency meetings are held to consider learning and agree further actions.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Carers talk to children about managing their emotions and encourage them to develop their awareness and understanding of risk. Carers recognise that children's behaviours are often a response to wider issues that they may find difficult to understand or Inspection report for children's home: 2747302 5 manage. For example, carers worked diligently to support one child who placed themselves at significant risk when going absent or missing from the home. Carers had a clear understanding of the circumstances that were affecting the child and increasing their vulnerability. They took appropriate action and worked effectively with partner agencies to share information, discuss concerns and reduce risk. The child had a detailed, individual missing-from-home plan, which carers followed consistently. They were persistent in their efforts to locate the child, contacting known associates and visiting likely locations. They held sensitive and timely discussions with the child about

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

harmful relationships, the risks associated with substance misuse and the dangers associated with fire-setting behaviour. There have been no other missing-from-home incidents involving children living at the home. Since this child moved out of the home in May 2026, there have been no further incidents of children going absent or missing from the home.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Carers provide children with consistent responses and effectively de-escalate heightened emotions and behaviours. They manage behaviour through strong and positive relationships with children. Carers are trained in the use of safe physical intervention and use this only as a last resort and in proportion to the risk presented. Managers maintain effective oversight of incidents and scrutinise records carefully. They consider children's views and explore their feelings and motivations. Any necessary improvements to practice are addressed promptly. As a result of carers' proactive approach, there have been only two occasions when low-level physical intervention has been necessary.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Managers and carers work closely with partner agencies to safeguard children. The responsible individual and registered manager maintain effective oversight of patterns and trends in incidents. They review events carefully and work with carers to adjust practice when necessary.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is committed to supporting children to achieve positive outcomes. She is child-focused and demonstrates a strong understanding of the individual needs of the children in her care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The responsible individual and registered manager have a clear understanding of the home's strengths and the areas they wish to develop. They have been proactive in raising concerns with social workers, team managers and senior leaders when they believed that children's needs were not being appropriately addressed. Overall, this has contributed to positive action being taken on behalf of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

However, in relation to one child, concerns raised by the responsible individual and registered manager about a potential change in the child's circumstances did not result in effective contingency planning being undertaken by the local authority. Consequently, the child was required to move from the home at short notice without an alternative placement being identified. The responsible individual, registered manager and carers responded proactively and adapted quickly to meet the child's changing needs. They continued to provide care and support through the use of holiday accommodation over a Inspection report for children's home: 2747302 6 three-week period until a suitable children's home was identified by the local authority. During this period, the child also lost their education placement due to the change in circumstances, and no alternative provision was available. The failure of wider agencies

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

to respond effectively to concerns raised by the responsible individual and registered manager resulted in poor planning for this child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The responsible individual and registered manager recognise that this situation did not represent good practice and have completed a comprehensive learning review. The registered manager has already incorporated the learning from this review into decision- making regarding referrals and transition planning. There are plans to share the findings with partner agencies and consider how similar situations can be prevented in the future.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Carers report that they feel very well supported by shift leaders and managers. The new registered manager and deputy manager have improved consistency of practice and boosted team morale. The registered manager identified that supervision had not been taking place regularly over the previous 12 months. A renewed focus has resulted in good-quality supervision taking place consistently over the last two months. This work remains ongoing. The local authority has also introduced a new appraisal system, and managers are attending the associated training. All carers' appraisals are scheduled to be completed by the end of September 2026.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Carers have a good understanding of their responsibilities and feel trusted in their roles. They understand and actively use the therapeutic models that underpin practice in the home and apply these approaches in their daily interactions with children. Carers are further supported through an established induction and probation process, regular team meetings and a comprehensive training programme. The registered manager is strengthening this support through the introduction of additional in-house training sessions. Currently, carers do not receive additional ongoing training specifically focused on supporting children to transition into adulthood, despite this being a key aspect of the service's purpose.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are clear and effective monitoring systems in place. As a result, when practice falls short of expectations, managers identify issues promptly and take action to address them. This helps to ensure that expectations are understood and that practice remains consistent.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Internal auditing tools are used effectively to support the development of the staff team and inform the home's development plans. The registered manager and deputy manager regularly review practice and drive continuous improvement. For example, systems used to support children to develop independence skills are currently being refined to make them more individualised. This helps children to focus on areas that are most relevant to their development. Action is also being taken to reduce the number of locked doors within the home. As a result, children have greater access to cupboards and communal areas, including the previously locked staff office, promoting a more homely environment. Inspection report for children's home: 2747302 7

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, The Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the 'Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards'. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(iii) 30 September 2026

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Requirement Due date

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (c) 30 September 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that systems are in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive regular supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)  The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs. This specifically relates to training to support children to develop their independence skills and successfully move on into adulthood. ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11) Inspection report for children's home: 2747302 8

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, using the social care common inspection framework. This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, and to consider how well it complies with the Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the 'Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards'. Inspection report for children's home: 2747302 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Shropshire Council, Shirehall, Abbey Foregate, Shrewsbury SY2 6ND

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Inspector

Dawn Bennett, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2747302 10 achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children's services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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